Duggan: Donated truck carries holiday cheer to Glen Haven

Dec. 19, 2013

Chevrolet and its dealerships across Northern Colorado donated a 2014 Silverado crew-cab pickup to the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department after learning how the community was affected by flooding in September. The truck was delivered on Thursday. It will converted into a medical rescue vehicle. / Courtesy Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department

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Christmas came a few days early this year for the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department.

The department and community members on Thursday took delivery of a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado crew-cab pickup.

The diesel-powered, 1-ton vehicle came with a snowplow. And it has four-wheel drive, of course.

The truck will be able to carry up to six people on emergency calls.

It was donated to the fire department by Chevrolet and its dealerships across Northern Colorado, including Fort Collins and Loveland.

Jason Gdovicak, chief of the fire department, estimated the value of the vehicle at $55,000. It comes at a critical time for the department and residents as they continue working hard to recover from the devastating September flooding.

“This is very uplifting for the whole community,” Gdovicak said in a telephone interview. “It’s a real morale boost.”

As you might recall, the Glen Haven area was hammered by the flood. Many homes and businesses were heavily damaged, if not destroyed.

Some roads serving the area were scoured to bedrock by normally placid streams that turned into rampaging rivers with the deluge.

Larimer County Road 43, the main street of Glen Haven, has been restored. But the fire department is challenged to provide emergency services to residents who live anywhere other than right on CR 43 because of the state of the side roads.

Some were patched by crews restoring utilities to the area, but they are impassable by the department’s large firefighting apparatus.

This truck will replace two aged vehicles that are reaching the end of the road, so to speak. One is a 1991 Suburban; the other is a 1993 ambulance.

Gdovicak said the new truck will be rigged to carry medical and rescue equipment. Department members will have a good time “putting stuff” on the shiny new rig in the months to come.

Before that, it will be used to plow roads and haul trailers loaded with flood debris. It is likely to make a big difference for the area.

Debris removal is another major challenge for the area. Larimer County has begun picking up debris stacked along CR 43.

But getting debris, such as downed trees and damaged household materials, off properties that are far from the county road is difficult because the side roads are in such rough shape.

Chevrolet and its dealerships decided to donate the truck after learning about the devastation in Glen Haven from Gdovicak’s aunt, who lives in Ohio. She launched a one-woman campaign to find help for the hamlet, he said. And it has paid off.

Much has to happen for Glen Haven to get back to normal. But every little bit, or in this case a big truck, helps in that effort.

Merry Christmas, Glen Haven.

Kevin Duggan is a senior reporter. Contact him at (970) 224-7744 or KevinDuggan@ coloradoan.com. Follow @coloradoan_dugg on Twitter.